Pulpwood transportation cars



Dec. 19, 1961 s. w. FAIRWEATHER PULPWOOD TRANSPORTATION CARS WE s 1 5 am m m MIWMN 1m m M RN m Filed April 21, 1958 Dec. 19, 1961 s. w.FAIRWEATHER 3,013,508

PULPWOOD TRANSPORTATION CARS Filed April 21, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 u) re5;,

In zrerzfon Dec. 1 1 s. w. FAIRWEATHER PULPWOOD TRANSPORTATION CARS 6SheeosSheet 3 Filed April M FAIAh/EA r/IER (23 W Dec. 19, 1961 s. w.FAIRWEATHER 3,013,508

PULPWOOD TRANSPORTATION CARS Filed April 21, 1958 \D 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 m.5. M FA/kWfATf/[R N Dec. 19, 1961 s. w. FAIRWEATHER 3,013,503

PULPWOOD TRANSPORTATION CARS Filed April 21, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 5lawn/0w 3. M FA/RWFAf/IEQ Dec. 19, 1961 s. w. FAIRWEATHER PULPWOODTRANSPORTATION CARS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 21, 1958 Invemow 15. MFZ/Ph ZA T/IER fltfamzgys United States Patent real, Quebec, CanadaFiled Apr. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 729,30 8 Claims. Ii. 105 378) Thisinvention relates to improvements in railway cars for the transportationof logs and in particular pulpwoo d.

Heretofore, logs and pulpwood have been transported mainly on flat carsand the stacking of the logs on these flat cars has been a considerableproblem and expense due to the inability to ensure the maintenance ofthe stacked load because of the lack of adequate enclosure. When such aload shifts it is necessary to stop transportation to unload and restackthe logs. This, of course, results in considerable loss intransportation time as well as the expense ofrestacking. Moreover, whenone or more logs project from the sides of the flat car and areunnoticed, they become a hazard to passing trains as well as to peopleon station platforms.

Box cars have also been used for transportation of pulpwood and otherlogs but due to the relatively small centre opening, loading andunloading is both tedious and awkward and, moreover, must be donemanually only permitting one crew to work on a car.

The present invention proposes to overcome all of these hazards anddifiiculties. In this connection it is a particular object of thisinvention to provide a pulpwood car comprising a plurality of doors ofsubstantial width on both sides of the car and which are capable ofbeing individually or collectively opened for selective loading andunloading along a substantial length of the car.

Another object is to provide a plurality of doorways along the length ofeach side of a pulpwood car which are adapted to be closed and opened bya door frame structure for each door-way which is capable of selectivelyswinging outwardly from its normally closed position and of sliding inthe longitudinal direction of the car to an open position so that aplurality of doors on each side can be open at one time to facilitatesimultaneous loading and unloading operations at either ends of the car.

Still another object of this invention is to provide each door of thecharacter described with a novel safety looking mechanism which isseparately operable for the securing and releasing of each door.

The above and other objects and characteristic features of thisinvention will be understood more readily from the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich- FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a car embodying thisinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view invention and illustrating one manner inmay be opened.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating another manner in which thedoors may be opened.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of one half of the car shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing a portion of the car in horizontal sectionand a fragment thereof in plan.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 77 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken through the car at theposition indicated by lines 3-45 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side elevational view of fragments of the carshown in FIG. 1.

of a car embodying this which the doors ice FIG. 10 is a fragmentaryview showing details of the car door 'lock actuating mechanism.

FIG. 11 is an end view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the lines 12-12 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the lines 13-43 of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged detail view one end of the crib shown in FIG. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 5 generally designates thepulpwood ear, including a deck 6 mounted on a car frame '7 and a cribstructure mounted on said deck.

of a fragment of The crib structure comprises opposing end frames 9 andopposing side frames 10. The end frames 9 are each formed by fourvertical I-beams 11, certain of which are secured to the ends of the carframe 7 by means of bottom extensions 12-. fitted in wells 14 in the carframe ends and certain of which are riveted at their lower ends tobrackets 15 welded to the car :deck 6, as indicated at 16. An angleplate 17 is arranged across the bottom of the end frame 9 with oneflange flatly engaging the car deck 6 and the other flange secured in anupright position to the inner flanges of the I-beaams 11. A cross-beam18 of I-section extends across the top of the end frame with the upperends of the lbeams 11 secured between the flanges on one side of saidcross-beam 18. An inside skin 19 of heavy duty, chainlink, wire meshextends across the end frames 9 to aid in retaining the load.

The crib side frames 10 are of skeleton structure and each consistsmainly of a channel-section top beam 20 secured at its ends to theadjacent ends of the crib end frame cross-beam 18 and supportedintermediate its length by upright posts 21, 22, 23 and 24.

A plurality of upright posts 21 are arranged in spaced relation on eachside from the ends of the crib for a short distance towards the centralsection. Each upright post 21 is Z-section and has the outer surface ofthe inwardly disposed flange secured adjacent the upper end thereof tothe outer flange of the channel-section top beam 20, as indicated at 25.The lower end 'of each upright post 21 is secured to an angle plate 26which extends along the side of the deck 6 from the end frame bottomangle plate 17 for a predetermined distance toward the central section.Angle plate 26 has one flange underlying the lower end of the Z-sectionupright posts 21 and the other flange extending upright along the outersurface of the inwardly disposed flange of said upright posts 21. legextensions 27 secured to the upright flange of angle plate 26 projectdownwardly therefrom and are fitted into U- shaped loops or straps 28carried by the side of car frame 7 below the deck 6.

An upright post 22 extends between top beam 20 and the inner end ofangle plate 26. Post 22 is channelsection and has its upper end securedto the inner surfaces of channel-section top beam 20 so that the outeredges of the flanges of said post 22 are directed toward the adjacentend frame 9 of the crib. The lower end of post 22 is mounted on amarginal extension 29 of the deck 6 with the outer surface of theoutwardly'disposed flange of post 22 abutting and secured to theinwardly directed surface of the upright flange of angle plate 26adjacent the inner end thereof. An inside skin of chain-wire mesh 30extends across from post 22 to the end frame 9. This portion of eachside structure and the adjacent end frame 9 conjointly form end pocketsof approximatelyfi feet in depth at each end of the car crib.

Posts 23 are positioned at each mediate the centre of the car and eachend pocket side forming structure. Each post 23 is I-section and has theouter surface of its outwardly disposed flanges se- Patented Dec. 19,1961 side of the car intercured adjacent the upper end thereof to theinner flange of the channel-section top beam 20. The lower end of post23 is secured between upper marginal portions of plates 31 and 32.Intermediate portions of plates 31 and 32 are bent outwardly anddownwardly, as indicated at 33 and 34, so that lower marginal portionsform an offset leg extension 35 receivable in a further U-shaped loop orstrap 28 carried by the side of the car frame structure 7.

A post 24 is positioned in the centre of each side of the car. Post 24is hollow and rectangular in crosssection. The upper portion of post 24is welded to the outer surface of the outer flange of top beam 20, asindicated at 38. The lower portion of post 24 is Welded along its innersurface to the upper portion of a leg 39 having a tapered lower portionwhich extends through the deck 6 and into a further U-shaped loop orstrap 28 on the side of car frame structure 7.

A central cross-tie 40 extends across the top of the crib between theopposing centre posts 24 and is secured on its underside to the top ofposts 24 as Well as the underlying surface portion of top beam 20 bywelding or other suitable means. Two intermediate crossties 41 extendacross the top of the crib, one on either side of centre crosstie 40substantially adjacent opposing intermediate posts 23. Cross-ties arebolted as indicated at 42 to the upper surface of the top beam 20 oneither side of the car. Each top beam 20 is provided with a series oflongitudinally spaced bolt holes 43 to permit adjustment of cross-ties41 towards or away from the centre cross-tie 40 to secure the top of thecrib at a predetermined distance intermediate the centre and one endthereof according to the load distribution in the crib.

At the top of each crib side frame structure inner and outer rails 45and 46 extend outwardly in opposite directions from centre post 24 topost 22. The inner rail 45 on each side of centre post 24 is supportedby end hanger brackets 47 and 48 located adjacent centre post 24 andpost 22, respectively, and by an intermediate bracket 49, all of saidbrackets being suspended from the web portion of channel shaped top beam20. It will be seen that inner rail 45 is located inside of post 24,outside of post 23 and extends through an opening in post 22. The outerrail 46 on each side of centre post 24 has its inner end secured in post24, as indicated at 50 and is supported intermediate its length by abracket 51 secured to the outer flange of top beam 20 adjacent post 23and at its outer end by a bracket 52 secured to the outer flange of topbeam 26 adjacent post 22. It will be seen that the outer rail 46 islocated outside of posts 22 and 23.

-A pair of inner and outer door structures 55 and 56, having an insideskin of Wire mesh 30, are suspended from inner and outer rails 45 and 46respectively. Inner door structure 55 is normally suspended to close thegap between posts 22 and 23 by hangers 57 and 58 having eyelets at theupper end thereof fitted about inner rail 45 to permit both swinging andsliding movement of door structure 55. Hanger 57 is arranged at one endof the door structure 55 to be normally positioned adjacent post 22 onthe side thereof nearest post 23. Hanger 58 is arranged at the oppositeend of the door structure 55 and has its upper portion angularly offsetso that the eyelet thereof is disposed on the side of bracket 49 remotefrom post 22. This arrangement permits the door structure 55 either tobe swung outwardly about the axis of rail 45 from the normally closedposition or else to be slidably moved toward the centre post 24.

The outer door structure 56 is normally suspended to close the gapbetween posts 23 and 24 by hangers 59 and 60 having eyelets at the upperend thereof fitted about outer rail 46 to permit both swinging andsliding movement of door structure 56. Hanger 59 is arranged at one endof the door structure 56 and has its upper portion angularly offset sothat the eyelet thereof is disposed on the side of intermediate bracket51 remote from post 24. Hanger 6%) is arranged at the opposite end ofthe door structure 56 to be normally positioned adjacent centre post 24on the side thereof nearest post 23. This arrangement permits the doorstructure 56 either to be swung outwardly about the axis of rail 46 fromthe normally closed position or else to be slidably moved toward theouter post 22.

It will be seen that inner door structure 55 is slidable from itsnormally closed position between posts 22 and 23 to an open positionbehind the outer door structure 56 because of the relative positioningof intermediate hanger bracket 49 and the eyelet of inner door hanger58. It will also be appreciated that the outer door structure 56 isslidable from its normally closed position between posts 23 and 24 to anopen position in front of door structure 55 because of the relativepositioning of intermediate hanger bracket 51 and the eyelet of outerdoor hanger 59.

When the inner and outer door structures 55 and 56 are in their normallyclosed positions they may be secured by separate locking mechanismsarranged below the deck 6 outwardly of the frame 7. One lockingmechanism includes a shaft 65 extending from a lock actuating mechanism66 at the end of the car to adjacent intermediate post 23. Shaft 65 isjournalled in brackets 67, carried by the car frame 7, to rotate about ahorizontal axis. A plurality of pairs of crank arm members 68 are fixedat one end to rotate with shaft 65. A locking pin 69 is pivotallyconnected at 70 to each pair of crank arms 68. When shaft 65 is rotatedin one direction the pins 69 are projected through openings 71 in deck 6and into U-shaped brackets on loops 72 carried by the lower frame ofdoor structure 55 to secure the door structure in its closed position.Reverse rotation of shaft 65 retracts the pins 69. The lock actuatingmechanism 66 includes a sleeve member 73 eccentrically mounted on theouter end of shaft 65 to rotate therewith, a ratchet 74 connected tosleeve member 73 and concentric with the axis of shaft 66 and a pawl 75mounted on a separate axis 76 and operable by a lever 77 to engage anddisengage the ratchet 74. A handle 78 is removably insertable in sleeve73 to rotate said shaft 65 and thereby actuate the lock mechanism.

Another locking mechanism includes a shaft extending from a lockactuating mechanism 91 located a predetermined distance inwardly fromthe car end to adjacent the centre post 24. Shaft 90 is arrangedparallel to and outwardly of shaft 65 and is journalled in brackets 67,carried by the car frame 7 to rotate about a horizontal axis. Aplurality of pairs of crank arms 92 are fixed at one end to rotate withshaft 96. A locking pin 93 is pivotally connected at 94 to each pair ofcrank arms 92. When shaft 90 is rotated in one direction the pins 93 areprojected through openings similar to openings 71 in the deck 6 and intoU-shaped brackets or loops 95 carried by the lower frame of doorstructure 66 to secure the door structure in its closed position.Reverse rotation of shaft 90 retracts the pins 93. The lock actuatingmechanism 91 is similar in structure to the lock actuating mechanism 66.

The door structures 55 and 56 are also provided with additional safetylocks, including a chain 96 secured to posts 22, 23 and 24, pinreceiving brackets 97 and a pin carrying chain 98 carried by theadjacent side frame of the door structures 55 and 56. When the doors areclosed the free loop end of chain 96 is inserted between brackets 97 andthe pin of chain 98 is inserted through the openings in the brackets andthrough the said chain loop.

Manual loading of the car is similar to loading a box car. With the doornearest the end of the car open, logs are stacked first in the endpockets of the car, then the logs are stacked in the open doorwaysection. This door is then closed and locked as above described and thedoors adjacent either side of the centre post 24 are moved to aoraeos anopen position. Loading is then carried on in these two open doorwaysections and the second pair of doors are closed and locked. Due to thelength of the car and the particular arrangement of the doors it ispossible to employ two loading crews at a time, each crew working atopposite ends of the car. It will be appreciated that, when loading iscompleted and the doors are secured, there is complete safety in thetransportation of the cars at high speeds since there is no danger ofthe load dumping in transit or even of the hazard of a log beingdisplaced and projecting beyond the sides of the car.

Mechanical loading is readily accomplished with any type of equipmentdesigned to lower bundles of logs through the open top of the car crib.With the exception of the three cross-ties there is no obstruction andthese cross-ties are so positioned as to give a minimum amount ofobstruction. V Unloading may be done manually or mechanically. Themanual procedure is substantially the reverse of the loading operation.Due to the location of the door lock actuating mechanisms the operatormust be in a position which is substantially clearof the door to beopened so that there is no danger of him being struck by any logs whichmay be dislodged when said doors have been disengaged by the lockingmechanism.

Mechanical unloading is greatly simplified and can be accomplished bygrapples through the top opening or can be pushed off from one sideafter opposing doors have been opened. This latter process onlynecessitates manhandling of the logs stacked in the end pockets.

The car structure also lends itself to gravity unloading of the logswhich can be further assisted by elevating one rail so that the mainbulk of the load will roll out through the doors open on one side of thecar. This will leave only those logs in the end pockets to bemanhandled.

What I claim is:

1. A railway car for the transportation of pulpwood, logs and the likecomprising an open-top crib structure mounted on the deck of a carframe, said crib including opposing immovable end frames and opposingsideframes, each of said side frames comprising immovable end sectionsforming an end pocket with the adjacent end frame, an outer postadjacent each end pocket, a centre post and an intermediate post locateda substantial distance between each outer post and the centre post todefine two doorways on either side of said centre post, said side frameend sections and said outer, intermediate and centre posts being rigidlyconnected at their upper ends by a top beam extending the length of saidside frame, means mounting a pair of doors for normally closing the twodoorways at one side of said centre post, said pair of door structuresbeing mounted for selective sliding movement relative to one another toopen either one of said two doorways and for outward swinging movementabout horizontal axes when in their normally closed position, meansmounting a second pair of doors for normally closing the two doorways atthe other side of said centre post, said second pair of doors beingmounted for selective sliding movement relative to one another to openeither one of said last mentioned two doorways and for outward swingingmovement about horizontal axes when in their normally closed position,and releasable locking means carried by said car frame for separatelysecuring each of said doors in its normally closed position.

2. A railway car as set forth in claim 1, including a centre cross-tiemember extending between and secured to the top beam and centre post ofopposing side frames.

3. A railway car as set forth in claim 2, including an intermediatecross-tie arranged on either side of said centre cross-tie betweenopposing side frames, each intermediate cross-tie being secured at itsends to said top beam at a selected point intermediate said centre postand the adjacent end frame of the crib and means provided in said topbeam for selectively adjusting the distance between said centrecross-tie and each of said intermediate cross-ties.

4. A railway car as set forth in claim 1, including inner and outer railmembers carried by said top beam on opposite sides of said centre postto adjacent the said outer posts, one of said pair of doors whichnormally closes the doorway remote from the centre post being suspendedfrom an inner rail member and being selectively swingable outwardlyabout the axis of said inner rail member when said door is in itsnormally closed position and slidable along said inner rail member to aposition across the doorway adjacent said centre post, and the other ofsaid pair of doors which normally closes the doorway adjacent saidcentre post being suspended from an outer rail member and beingselectively swingable outwardly about the axis of said outer rail memberwhen said other door is in its normally closed position and slidablealong said outer rail member to a position overlying the first of saiddoors and across the doorway remote from said centre post.

5. A railway car as set forth in claim 4, in which said centre post isdisposed in the path of sliding movement of the door on either sidethereof suspended from the outer rail member and in which said outerpost is in the path of sliding movement of the door suspended from theinner rail member, said intermediate post being disposed inwardly of thepaths of travel of said doors to permit sliding movement thereof fromtheir normally closed to opened positions.

6. A railway car as set forth in claim 4, in which said top beam ischannel shaped as viewed in cross-section, and in which said inner railmembers are carried by brackets depending from the web portion of saidtop beam and said outer rail members are carried by brackets securedalong one side to the outer surface of one of the flanges of said topbeam.

7. A railway car as set forth in claim 1, in which said releasablelocking means includes a first shaft extending longitudinally of the carbeneath the car deck from adjacent one end to adjacent the intermediatepost on the same side of the centre post, a plurality of crank armsspaced along said first shaft to rotate therewith, a pin pivotallyconnected to each of said crank arms and being selectively projected andretracted through said deck to engage and disengage one of said pair ofdoors when in its normally closed position, and a second shaft extendinglongitudinally of the car beneath the car deck from adjacent one end toadjacent the centre post, a plurality of crank arms spaced along saidsecond shaft to rotate therewith, a pin pivotally connected to each ofsaid last mentioned crank arms and being selectively projected andretracted through said deck to engage and disengage the other of saidpair of doors when in its normally closed position, and actuating meanscarried by said first and second shafts for separately rotating thesame.

8. A railway car as set forth in claim 1 including an open mesh skinlining the side and ends of said crib.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS266,829 Johnston Oct. 31, 1882 836,239 Buckley Nov. 20, 1906 882,308Gilman Mar. 17, 1908 930,393 Lamb Aug. 10, 1909 1,202,927 Wagner Oct.31, 1916 1,443,521 Brandt Jan. 30, 1923 2,320,216 Brister Mar. 25, 19432,756,694 Wardein July 31, 1956

